15.10.12

Uruguay residency procedure change - verification of documents from country of origin

The purpose of this post is to notify you of a change in the way documents from your country of origin are to be verified for the purposes of your Uruguay residency application.The former process of verifying foreign public documents for residency in Uruguay
Up until October 14th, 2012, documents from abroad required for a Uruguay residency application needed to be legalized by the Uruguayan consulate presiding over the area of the document’s origin.

The birth certificate needed to be legalized by the Uruguayan Consulate presiding over the area in the country where you were born. Your marriage certificate or divorce papers needed to be legalized by the Uruguayan Consulate presiding over the area in the country where the union (or unraveling) took place. For people who were not US citizens, a Police Certificate needed to be legalized by the Uruguayan consulate in your country of origin, plus any countries you have lived in during the last five years.

The New process of verifying foreign public documents for residency in Uruguay
Uruguay recently joined the Hague Apostille Convention. The Apostille Convention was signed October 5th 1961 for the purpose of abolishing the requirement for the legalization of foreign documents. Instead public documents are verified by the government issuing the documents with an apostille, which is a stamp or document which includes a registration number, official seal or stamp, and the signature of the authority giving the apostille.

In the US there are designated Federal and State entities that have the authority to apostille documents within their jurisdiction. For State issued public documents the authority is usually the Secretary of State’s office.

So, for State issued documents required for Uruguay residency, they need to go to the Secretary of State or the appropriate deputy. See list here